So he is alive. What Did Donald Trump Do Today? columnist George Cummings recaps a day in which the president demonstrated he remains indeed among the undead.
■ Columnist Charlotte Clymer explains why Trump’s announcement of his decision to move the U.S. Space Command from Colorado to Alabama constitutes a “dangerous gamble on our national security.” (Cartoon: Jack Ohman.)
■ Satirist Andy Borowitz: “Trump Orders Cabinet to Wear Three Pairs of Tube Socks to Make His Ankles Look Normal.”‘Terror and cruelty is the point.’ Gov. Pritzker says he doesn’t expect Trump to chicken out on his threats to send the troops into Chicago.
■ He says Texas forces seem headed this way …
■ … and he’s advising people in Illinois to know their rights.
■ Here’s video of Pritzker’s news conference moments after Trump told reporters “We’re going in” to Chicago.
■ Politico’s recap: “Hellhole? Hell no.”
■ Among those opposing Trump’s plans: Some active and veteran U.S. service members.
■ Stop the Presses proprietor Mark Jacob: “Chicago’s doors are open for everyone. Except, that is, an army of occupation sent in by Donald Trump.”
■ USA Today Chicago-based columnist Rex Huppke: “This isn’t a city you mess with. This is the place that saw regular pizza and said, ‘Hey, what if we make that about 2 inches deeper and put more cheese on it?’”
■ Law Dork Chris Geidner: “Trump’s effort to threaten American cities with federal military presence … got its strongest pushback yet” …
■ … even as law professor Joyce Vance raises the prospect of federal troops stationed at the polls in 2026.
■ Will Bunch at The Philadelphia Inquirer (gift link): A grand jury’s refusal to indict “the sandwich guy” shows how the people can win.
Mixed signals. WBEZ reports that Chicago’s seen its fewest summer murders since 1965 …
■ … but, after a violent weekend, a Tribune editorial isn’t celebrating: “Too many gunmen did not get the message that Chicago had crime under control.”
■ Neil Steinberg at the Sun-Times: “Those hot to pretend Chicago deserves federal intervention see a city that doesn’t exist.”
■ Popular Information: In fact, “Chicago is part of a nationwide trend of declining violent crime.”
■ Columnist Parker Molloy: “ABC News just handed Donald Trump exactly what he wanted: A crime panic narrative that makes his threat to send federal troops to Chicago seem reasonable.”
■ Trib columnist Laura Washington (gift link): “I suspect Trump is bluffing on his threats, but if he does send Guardsmen in, let’s politely ignore them.”
■ Indivisible Chicago says it’s “committed to non-violence and to engaging in de-escalation of any potential confrontation.”
Another front in Trump’s Illinois feud. The Justice Department’s suing to end the state’s policy of charging undocumented students in-state tuition at public universities.
■ The AP: “Students without legal status are dropping out or delaying college as states revoke tuition breaks.”
■ Historian Heather Cox Richardson: “Sunday morning, in the middle of a three-day holiday weekend, the Trump administration attempted to take children out of government custody and ship them alone to their country of origin, Guatemala.”
■ Columnist Christopher Armitage: “Five phone calls can stop American fascism. Here are the numbers.”
A ‘housing emergency.’ Trump’s treasury secretary says the president may declare one this fall …
■ … and economist Paul Krugman agrees we have one: “Unfortunately, everything Trump is doing that affects housing availability will make the emergency worse.”
WBEZ shakeup. Axios’ Justin Kaufmann—himself a WBEZ alumnus—recaps a programming overhaul at the station, including the replacement of its flagship midday talk show.
■ Morning Edition host (and WXRT alumna) Mary Dixon posted yesterday: “I just wrapped … a total of 30 years pulling the early radio news shift. Tomorrow, I sleep in and help launch a new project at Chicago’s NPR News Station.”
■ Saturday Night Live’s adding five new cast members—including a St. Paul native who got his start in Chicago.
■ South Park’s back to nettle Trump tonight.
AIiiii! Asked about a video showing large things getting tossed out of a White House window, Trump blamed AI, before then telling reporters, “If something happens really bad, just blame AI.”
■ Stephen Colbert, back from a vacation: “You just blamed AI! Which means … something really bad happened?”
■ LateNighter recaps Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel’s “fiery comebacks” from their summer breaks, taking square aim at Trump.
‘The scam email that almost fooled me.’ Tech-savvy Advisorator Jared Newman sounds a warning about a PayPal-branded hoax that looks like the real deal.
■ ZDNET recommends deleting browser extensions right now …
■ … a painful prospect for your Chicago Public Square columnist (2023 link).
■ Columnist Matt Stoller: A federal judge is letting Google get away with monopoly …
■ … but he is pushing the company to share nicely.
‘I can’t comment when I don’t know why.’ But The Handmaid Tale’s author Margaret Atwood has responded to the book’s banning in some Canadian schools with “a nice, clean little story … that can hardly be accused of being pornographic, since it doesn’t have any sex in it at all, either ‘explicit’ or ‘implied.’”
■ The ban’s now on hold “until further notice.”
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■ Want to advertise here? Go for it.
■ Beth Kujawski made this edition better.
